Countdown to Korea

T minus 10, 9, 8, 7...

So... we're going to finally going to Korea in 10 days! I'm so excited!

We have been waiting and preparing for this trip the entire academic year, learning things about the culture, language, and business practices of the Korean people, and now we get to actually immerse ourselves in the culture for the first time.

This blog will be our official reference point, updates daily, letting everyone know what we are doing, the different things we are experiencing, and what we are learning along the way.

Going into this trip, I don't really feel very much except excited! I absolutely love to travel, and learning about different people and new ways of doing things, so this is going to be a great experience I'm sure!

In preparation for this trip, I and the other 6 students who are participating have taken part in several different excursions around the state to get a firsthand look at some of the multinational businesses that are in Alabama.

First, of course there are our East Asian Institute sessions, during which we are exposed to many different people who are representative of our Korean partners - who give lectures on important facts and practices in the Korean culture, as well as expose us to the things Korea is doing in the global marketplace.

We also have off-campus excursions to get a first hand look at the international business arena.

Last month, we as a group went to visit the Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama, where we took a tour of the entire facility, being briefed on the way that the assembly line works, how they test the quality standards, the science of their "just in time" delivery system, and other things.

From there we went to a supplier for Mercedes, the ZF Plant, where we saw basically the same thing on a smaller scale. They explained to us the importance of quality and standardization in their product, as well as their symbiotic relationship with Mercedes.

With these types of exposure, I feel very confident that we are prepared to go forth and experience the world of global business, I think that this trip will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career, and I am looking forward to it!